This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all rights accruing thereto under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 through my patent application entitled Power Control Apparatus of scanning Device and Method Thereof earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Nov. 24, 1997 and there duly assigned Ser. No. 1997/62288.
The present invention relates to a multi-function peripheral and, more specifically, to a device and a method for controlling the power supplied to a scanning device in a scanner.
Today, a wide variety of office equipment is necessary to efficiently run an office. However, the cost of the many machines needed can be prohibitively expensive. This has led to many attempts to find ways of making office equipment more affordable. One such attempt has been the development of machines that are suitable for both printing and scanning. One method of making such multi-functional machines is to combine both a printing cartridge and a scanning module into one unit, a multi-functional cartridge.
A multi-function peripheral device can be attached to a computer system to increase the functionality of the computer system without increasing the amount of space required by peripherals as much as the use of separate peripheral, each designed for only one task, would require. In a multi-functional peripheral device, a central processing unit controls all of the systems and may be built into the peripheral or contained in the computer system. The central processing unit controls a system memory that contains a program for driving all the systems of the peripheral device. An image processor performs the functions of shading, gamma correction, dots per inch conversion, edge emphasis, and error diffusion etc. Image data is scanned by a scanner module, under the control of the central processing unit. A modem can send out signals that contain facsimiles of image data, and an port, also called an ECP port, can transfer signals between a personal computer, central processor, and a printer. A scanner module, that may be attached to a toner cartridge, scans images that are contained on a piece of paper. A rasterizer rasterizes image data that is read by the scanner module and arranged into vertical blocks. An image memory is a buffer memory that is used during the processing of the image data as needed by the image processor. A system memory is composed of a electrically programmable read only memory that is equipped with a program, or a set of BIOS instructions, for all systems of the peripheral device. A synchronized read only memory may be integrated with either the peripheral or the computer system to aid in the processing of data by the peripheral. A printer driver controls the print head of the printer and modulates the jetting of ink to form images.
I have observed, however, that some multi-functional peripherals can overheat due the heat generated by the lamp used in the scanning component of the peripheral. The contemporary art has used programs contained in the central processing unit to turn of the lamp of the scanning device when the system is overheating. This approach, however, only works when the central processing unit is functioning properly. Thus, when the central processing unit is malfunctioning, it is possible for the scanning device to dangerously overheat. As such, I believe that it may be possible to improve on the contemporary art by providing a method and a device for terminating the power to a lamp of a scanning device when an overheating condition exists using hardware.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and an improved device for terminating the power to a lamp of a scanning device when an overheating condition exists.
It is another object to provide a method and a device for terminating the power to a lamp of a scanning device that is operable even when the central processing unit is malfunctioning.
It is still another object to provide a method and a device for terminating the power to a lamp of a scanning device that uses hardware rather than software.
It is yet another object to provide a method and a device for terminating the power to a lamp of a scanning device that can terminate two different levels of power at the same time.
It is still yet another object to provide a method and a device for terminating the power to a lamp of a scanning device that is economical and easy to integrate into the manufacturing of either one of a multi-functional peripheral device or a stand-alone scanning device.
To achieve these and other objects, a device is provided that uses a temperature detector to detect heat generated from the lamp and output a corresponding voltage. A lamp power control apparatus controls the power being supplied to the lamp by checking the corresponding voltage against a reference voltage. Depending on the comparison of the two voltages a circuit deactivates the power supplied to the lamp.
A method of integrating the above device with a peripheral device starts with detecting a temperature of an area proximate to the lamp. Then, a lamp-temperature-voltage that is inversely proportional to the detected temperature is generated. This lamp-temperature-voltage is converted into an output-voltage by comparing the lamp-temperature-voltage with a reference-voltage. Then, an output voltage is sent out that has a low state while the lamp-temperature-voltage is below the reference-voltage. The power controller then terminates the power supply to the lamp while the output-voltage is in a low state.